Breaking Rose Parade Royal Court color barrierIn 1969 the color barrier was broken with the Tournament of Roses Royal Court. Not once, but twice: by myself, an African American, and Janice Lowe, of Chinese descent, and by John Muir High School. It seems we have kind of been forgotten, however. The Tournament of Roses was not always so diverse. I fulfilled my year successfully with no mistakes so there would be no excuses for not having other black court members. It was not all pleasant that year. In 1969 I had to deal with a lot of hate, but I did so because I knew what was at stake. It’s hard to be forgotten, to be essentially erased from history because the remembrance is uncomfortable. Nonetheless, it exists. This is the 50th anniversary of my becoming the first black member of the Tournament of Roses Royal Court. Kristina Smith became queen 15 years later. Now 50 years later, there is a black Tournament of Roses president with Gerald Freeny. Diversity takes a very long time.— Sylvia Peebles Fulmer, Fort Wayne, IndianaPresumed innocent in the Senate Kavanaugh caseLetter writer David Quintero (Sept. 30) is offended that some senators have invoked the doctrine that there is a presumption of innocence with respect to the charges against Judge Kavanaugh. The alleged ignorance of the argument makes Quintero squirm and chastise those who invoke it, because that doctrine is for criminal proceedings, which the senate confirmation proceedings are not. It is true that the confirmation proceedings are not a criminal proceeding and that the specific criminal law doctrine of presumption of innocence is not in play, but that is not the end of the story. What the senators are perhaps inartfully articulating is that when a person accuses another person of heinous acts, it is our system of justice, in criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings, that the burden of proof is on the accuser and that the accused is entitled to due process. An accused, in any of these proceedings, is not presumed guilty of the accusations made against him, and the complaining party has the burden of proof. This is, of course, what too many are themselves guilty of, presuming a man’s guilt. This does not seem to bother Quintero. My bet is that it would were he the “accused.” We would all want fundamentally fair procedures procedures to apply in the same manner if we or a loved one, or even a stranger, were accused. In my opinion, Quintero “strains at a gnat and swallows a camel.”— Rich Mason, AltadenaYes on Proposition 12I’m really disappointed in the paper’s decision not to endorse a yes vote on Proposition 12, especially when that decision seems to be based on misinformation. While the egg industry itself estimates that switching to cage-free might result in a price difference of about a penny per egg, the cost of cage-free may actually be negligible, especially when taking into account the potential reduction in health care costs associated with food-borne illnesses. The science repeatedly shows that eggs from caged hens have a higher prevalence of carrying salmonella. It is just common sense that caged, overcrowded animals have compromised immune systems, which increases the risk of spreading disease. By prohibiting cages and improving space requirements, Prop. 12 would help reduce the risk of food safety threats that cause well over a million Americans to get sick annually. It could even prevent some of the roughly 450 deaths that stem from Salmonella poisoning every year. In my opinion, improved public health and fewer fatalities far outweigh a possible one cent price increase, which is why I’ll be voting yes on Prop. 12!— Lena Kelly, AltadenaRancor in the SenateI’m glad I’m 74 years old, because of what is presently going on about our Supreme Court. Never can I recall such rancor and partisanship that is being exhibited in our Senate. It appears that nothing can be done in any way except by fiat. I have watched a great deal of the testimony that was offered by the accuser, Christina Ford, and the rebuttal of Judge Kavanaugh. In my opinion Kavanaugh gave testimony that negated any accusation made by Ford. However it the performance by some of the senators in their interrogation was sheer grandstanding.— Robert Lee, Whittier